Israel Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, is one of the best strikers in the promotion. The number three pound-for-pound combatant has a phenomenal fighting style.
‘The Last Stylebender’ uses feinting techniques in his fights that distract his opponents. Very few fighters in the UFC use this unique technique. Hence, this makes Izzy an exceptional fighter.
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Apart from being an amazing fighter, ”The Last Stylebender’ has a charismatic persona and is also good on the mic. The Nigerian-born fighter has showcased his star qualities and funny persona in the lead-up to all of his fights.
Izzy is also known to play with his opponents inside the cage. And recently, the middleweight champion did something similar in his much-anticipated rematch with Robert Whittaker today inside the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
After explaining all the rules to both the combatants, referee Herb Dean asked them to touch gloves. However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ did something else. He played rock, paper, scissors with his nemesis and defeated him. This gave a hilarious moment to the fans before the gruesome war.
WATCH THIS STORY: Event Recap: Best Fights From UFC 271: Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2
Later, after a hard-fought battle, Izzy successfully defended his gold strap for the fourth time via unanimous decision. However, his opponent believes he had done enough to win the belt.
Israel Adesanya trolls Robert Whittaker after the title rematch
In their first clash in 2019 at UFC 243, ‘The Last Stylebender’ left no doubt and knocked out Robert Whittaker in the second round to become the new champion.
However, in the rematch, ‘The Reaper’ looked improved. He took down the champion quite a few times in the fight. But at the end of the fight, the judges scored in favor of the champion.
However, Whittaker thought he did enough to win the fight. Addressing this in the post-fight press conference, Izzy trolled the Australian. He said, “I don’t know! I heard he thought he won the fight or some s**t. I don’t know what he and Vettori were sipping on.”
Israel Adesanya says Robert Whittaker must be sippin' on Paulo Costa's wine if the thinks he won the rematch. 🍷😬#UFC271 | Full video: https://t.co/ZtcojRjAxK pic.twitter.com/HR4risbKCj
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) February 13, 2022
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“Maybe it was Costa’s wine. But f**king hell, he did not win that fight, he knows it. But yeah, same thing, he needs to go have a shower as well and reflect and realize, that’s not true.”
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“You don’t do enough to win the title, you take the belt. This is not how this works. I did enough, no.”- Izzy concluded.
What are your thoughts on Izzy playing a cheeky trick on Whittaker moments before the fight? Let us know in the comments below.